Emma speaks to GP partner Dr Tommy Perkins and specialist medical accountant Andy Pow from Medics Money about GP partnerships and why they are still a good option despite all the doom and gloom out there.

In this conversation Tommy and Andy discuss how partnerships are changing with more non-GPs taking on the role, what to consider if you’re thinking about becoming a partner, how to make partnerships more sustainable in what is a very challenging time, take a quick detour into pensions - with some useful advice for all GPs - and also discuss challenges around premises.

This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     Medics Money new to partnership course

●     The pensions guide mentioned in the episode

●     7 tips to make partnership sustainable in 2023

●     Medics Money podcast

●     Medics Money YouTube video showing how to use PCSE portal mentioned in episode

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Emma and Nick discuss last week’s pay announcement for junior doctors, salaried GPs and consultants and ask what it means for GP practices, the current strikes and the wider NHS.

They also talk about a new national system for reporting pressure in general practice that has been set up to help overwhelmed practices negotiate extra support and look at the results from the latest GP patient survey.

This week’s good news story looks at an initiative in Cumbria that is helping an underdoctored area plug workforce gaps by using a bank of GPs working remotely.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     Government to uplift GP contract to cover 6% pay rise for all practice staff

●     BMA rejects 6% pay deal with strikes set to continue

●     First national 'GP alert state' report reveals unsustainable pressure on practices

●     Which areas have the highest patient satisfaction with general practice?

●     GP patient survey suggests satisfaction stabilising after sharp drop last year

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This week Emma is speaking to BMA Wales GP committee chair Dr Gareth Oelmann.

At the end of June BMA Wales launched a new ‘Save Our Surgeries’ campaign, which comes at what the BMA warns is a 'defining moment' for general practice.

The campaign sets out the worrying state of general practice – and calls on the Welsh government to put in place an urgent rescue package. So how can we save general practice?

In this conversation Gareth sets out the challenges facing general practice in Wales, and what the BMA is calling for. He also explains why GP partnerships are worth saving, why the share of NHS funding that goes to general practice needs to increase after well over a decade of serious decline, and upcoming changes to the GP contract in Wales.

This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     BMA Wales Save our Surgeries campaign

●     Welsh GPs issue 'SOS' call as spiralling crisis threatens patient safety

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In this week’s news review, Emma and Nick look at the NHS workforce plan and discuss what it says, what it doesn’t say, and whether it will actually work.

They also talk about some of the debates from this week’s BMA annual representative meeting including a vote of no confidence in the GMC and some other motions of interest. And they look at a BMA report on long COVID in the medical profession and the devastating impact the condition has had on some doctors.

This week’s good news story is about the RCGP at last weekend’s Pride.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     What does the NHS workforce plan mean for general practice?

●     NHS heading for 15,000-GP shortfall as Sunak says retention 'not just about pay'

●     Doctors will 'strike for as long as it takes', warns BMA chair

●     Doctors vote 'no confidence' in GMC and MPTS and demand new leadership

●     Doctors with long COVID left 'penniless' as one in five unable to work

●     RCGP takes part in London's Pride parade

The NHS at 75

●     NHS at 75: A GP's account of the start of the NHS

●     NHS at 75: I dread telling people I'm a GP - we need a government that values us

●     NHS at 75: Primary care-focused 'reboot' can save NHS

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Emma speaks to GP and academic Dr Ben Brown from the University of Manchester whose research looks at how AI and machine learning could support healthcare professionals and patients.

Ben is currently involved in developing a new AI system that helps support triage of GP online consultations and was this year’s winner of the Society for Academic Primary Care’s award for outstanding early career research.

Both the government and the Labour Party have touted AI as a possible solution to the NHS’s workforce challenges, arguing it could free up clinicians so they can spend more time with patients. Reports suggest that the long-awaited NHS Workforce plan, which is due to be published imminently, will have a big focus on the role that new technology and AI in particular will play in the NHS over the next 10 years.

In this conversation Ben explains exactly what AI is, how it is being used currently in the NHS and its potential for the future. He also discusses how AI could help GPs and their teams manage their workloads, and what a GP consultation could look like in future, when AI is more established.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

More information on the system Ben is developing called PATCHS

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This week Emma and Nick discuss the government’s long-awaited NHS workforce plan, when it might be published and what general practice will be hoping to see in it.

They look at the results from a recent GPonline about inappropriate transfer of work from secondary to primary care and what needs to be done to address this.

And they talk about a motion up for debate at next month’s BMA annual representative meeting where delegates will call for a no confidence vote in the GMC – as well as some of the other issues relevant to general practice that will be debated at the meeting.

This week’s good news story highlights some of the GPs who received honours in the King’s birthday honours list last weekend.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and news editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deeen.

Useful links

●     'Complex' funding questions holding up NHS workforce plan, Barclay admits

●     Racism is shrinking the NHS workforce, warns former BMA chair

●     GPs call for action on work transfer from hospitals to tackle workload crisis

●     GMC faces 'no confidence' vote at BMA annual meeting

●     Health leaders demand action on five-year-old pledge to strip GMC of appeal powers

●     GPs among those to receive honours in King's birthday list

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Emma speaks to Christiana Melam, the chief executive of the National Association of Link Workers, who explains how social prescribing can help practices and GPs to meet demand and better support their patients.

Christiana explains why it is so important that the NHS looks at changing the way that it works, given that the current model is not meeting the needs of patients, highlighting the key role that social prescribing can play in prevention and addressing health inequalities.

The National Association of Link Workers also trains care navigators and Christiana also talks about what the recent access recovery plan had to say about care navigation and what this means for practices and their reception teams.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     National Association of Link Workers - Education standards

●     National Academy for Social Prescribing - evidence to support the use of social prescribing

●     National Association of Link Workers report - Exploring social prescribing referrals & impact on Information, advice and guidance Services

●     National Association of Link Workers report - The role of PPGs in social prescribing

●     GP mythbuster 106: Primary care first contact practitioners (FCPs) - Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk)

●     Tailored Primary Care Workforce Development and Wellbeing Packages from NALW

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This week the GPonline team talks about a call for emergency funding to support general practice across the UK as practices struggle to deal with rising costs – and look at what these financial pressures mean for GP partner income.

They also discuss the state of general practice in Northern Ireland and Scotland after some dire warnings from the BMA in each of those countries.

And look at the latest workforce and appointment data for general practice and the ARRS in England.

In better news, a new blood test for cancer that could help diagnose people much earlier is the podcast’s good news story for this week.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, news editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Eleanor Philpotts. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

GP partner income 'down 15% in a year' as soaring costs hit drawings

One in three GP practices in Northern Ireland faced serious closure risk in past 18 months

One in ten Scottish practices close lists in face of 'unsustainable' pressure

Proportion of GPs aged over 55 rising as workforce shrinks

Is the government right to claim its 26,000 additional roles target has been met?

Blood test for multiple cancers can diagnose two-thirds of cases, study suggests

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Emma speaks to Dr Matt Harris and GP Dr Connie Junghans Minton about an initiative involving community health and wellbeing workers that has been adopted in Connie’s practice in London and is also being rolled out to practices in other parts of the country.

It is based on a long-running scheme from Brazil, where evidence shows it has made a significant difference in terms of public health measures and health outcomes. Community health and wellbeing workers have already had some impressive results in the short time they have been working in London.

Matt, who is now a clinical senior lecturer in public health medicine at Imperial College London saw the scheme in action first hand when he worked as a GP in Brazil and it was his idea to bring the model to this country.

In this interview, he explains how the scheme works and how it can help GPs. Meanwhile Connie, who is also senior clinical fellow in primary care at Imperial College, discusses how her practice introduced community health and wellbeing workers for some of their most deprived patients and results from the initial pilot.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen

Useful links

Information on the community health and wellbeing worker programme is on the NAPC website here

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The team talks about safe working limits and the number of GPs we need in England to ensure doctors are working within those safe levels. They discuss some of the key debates from the UK LMCs conference that took place last week, including full GP pay restoration and whether we should have SAS doctors in general practice. And they look at the state of GP premises.

This week’s good news story is about a primary care transformation project within a PCN that improved patient outcomes, at the same time as delivering cost-savings.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and news editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     1 in 5 people in England would be without a GP if practices stuck to 'safe limit'

●     Which ICB areas have the most severe GP shortages?

●     UK LMCs conference 2023: full coverage

●     Junior doctors in England to hold three-day strike in June

●     GPs block drafty windows with tape as four in 10 work in unfit premises

●     Evaluation of the Foundry Healthcare Lewes’ primary care transformation project

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